In the 16th century police stations of the Ottoman Empire wanted to transform the Mediterranean into the Mare Nostrum. To combat the Muslim expansion was formed the Holy League (Heiligen League) in the Christian. Philip II of Spain appointed his brother D. Juan de Austria, captain general of the Royalist forces. The other commanders were: Sebastiano Venier (Venice) and Marcantonio Colonna (Papal States). Miguel Cervantes Saavedra lost his left arm, hence the name 'el manco de Lepanto' and then was captive in Algiers. Despite the defeat in the Gulf of Patras (Ionian Sea), on the outskirts of Naupaktos, the Ottomans conquered part of North Africa.